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China to free U.S. spy plane crew
BEIJING, China -- Twenty-four fliers, detained in China after a U.S. Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter collided over the South China Sea, will be released, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. A White House official confirmed today to CNN that U.S. and Chinese diplomats had reached an agreement to end an 11-day standoff. "Since the U.S. government has already said 'very sorry' to the Chinese people, the Chinese government has, out of humanitarian considerations, decided to allow the 24 people from the U.S. spy plane to leave after completion of the necessary arrangements," the statement said. Earlier, Chinese state-run media had announced that the crew of the U.S Navy EP-3 held on the island of Hainan were to be freed.
In a statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said "humanitarian considerations" prompted the release. A statement read on television and radio news broadcasts said the Americans would be released as soon as "appropriate travel procedures" were completed. No other details were given and it is not clear whether the issue of who was to blame for the incident has been resolved. Throughout the standoff, Beijing had demanded a full apology from Washington and acceptance that it was to blame for the collision, which sent the Chinese fighter jet into the sea. Reports in Chinese media Wednesday portrayed comments by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell last weekend as an informal apology for the collision, despite Powell's specific comment that the U.S. was not to blame. But Powell used the word "sorry" in reference to the U.S. regret over the loss of the Chinese pilot, who has not been found. Chinese media also noted that the United States acknowledged violating Chinese airspace -- but did not mention that the violation occurred as the damaged Navy plane limped to a Chinese landing strip for an emergency landing. The collision itself took place in international airspace. Missing pilotThere are also indications that China may be moving toward an announcement that it has given up hope of finding missing pilot Wang Wei alive. Wang has not been seen since his F-8 fighter jet crashed into the sea after colliding with the U.S. spy plane. State-run media reports quoted China's Navy Vice-commissar Hu Yanlin as saying that while a massive search for Wang continues, "his chances of being alive are diminishing". The reports came as U.S. military officials said new evidence suggested the missing pilot was probably to blame for the collision that has led to a diplomatic standoff between the two nations. Pentagon sources say the accident happened after two close passes by the Chinese jets, in which they flew within little more than a meter of the much slower and larger, propeller-powered EP-3E plane. Then on the third pass, sources say, Wang's jet approached the U.S. plane from a 45-degree angle, cut it too close and was hit by the EP-3Es number one engine on the left wing. The collision sent the U.S. plane into a 2,500 meter dive before its pilot could regain control. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES:
U.S. says China must move to break spy plane impasse RELATED SITES:
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